Kingsmen deliver in clutch

Elliott leads Penn to NIC victory over inexperienced Riley.

Elliott leads Penn to NIC victory over inexperienced Riley.

December 12, 2007|BRUCE MARSHALL Tribune Staff Writer

MISHAWAKA -- Like it does every year, Tuesday's swim meet between the Penn and Riley boys came down to the last race. Penn took first and third places in the 400 freestyle relay to provide the winning margin, 101-85, over its Northern Indiana Conference rival. Senior captain Andrew Elliott led the way for Penn, capturing three first place finishes, two individual (200 freestyle and 100 backstroke) and one relay (400 freestyle). "Winning that 400 free was the icing on the cake," said Elliott. "I was really fired up for that one, I knew if we won, we'd win the meet. "Winning the meet against Riley is always the greatest feeling of the year, because they are always so good. There is nothing else like it in swimming." As a senior and four-year swimmer, Elliott knows he is expected to lead the team. "I embrace the pressure of being the leader. I'm always cheering and yelling to the guys. In fact, I talk too much. But I like it when they respond, like tonight. "But you should be talking to Nick Chettleburgh; he swam out of his mind. He swam his lifetime bests in the 200 and 500 (freestyle) and almost beat (Riley's Eric) Blue in both races. He's the MVP of the meet." Penn head coach Dan Vogelgesang agrees with Elliott about the sophomore Chettleburgh. "Nick had a great meet and swam his lifetime bests in both the 200 and 500," he said. "But we had several lifetime bests tonight. Josh Coquillard swam extremely well. We swam fast from the start and didn't let up until it was over. "If we had a strategy, that was it. "But Andrew Elliott is the backbone of the team and is the leader in and out of the pool." Team depth is something Riley lacks this year. "We graduated seven swimmers from last year's team and four decided not to come back," said head coach John VanDreissche. "We are a small team and don't have enough horses, but we fought right to the end tonight. "We just ran out of gas." Riley senior captain David Lewandowski won the 50 and 100 freestyle events. He also swam a leg on the winning 200 medley relay and helped the Wildcats to a second-place finish on the 200 freestyle relay. "We needed David to step into the sprint events this year and he has really responded," said VanDreissche. Eric Blue won the 500 freestyle, finished second in the 200 and swam a leg on Riley's winning 200 medley relay. "I'm proud of the way we responded," said VanDreissche. "All the guys did as well as they could under the circumstances. This place (Penn) is a very difficult place to come in and win. 200 medley relay: 1. Riley 1:44.00 (Karl Weisser, Howard Meck, Eric Blue, David Lewandowski; 2. Penn 1:44.23 (Andrew Elliott, William McDonough, Gregory Trybula, Kirill Prokrym); 200 freestyle: 1. Elliott (P) 1:47.21; 2. Blue (R) 1:51.88; 200 individual medley: 1. Weisser (R) 2:04.61; 2. Trybula (P) 2:08.63; 50 freestyle: 1. Lewandowski (R) 22.84; 2. Josh Coquillard (P) 23.02; diving: 1. Sam Lewin (P) 182.60; 2. Billy Pacheco (R) 149.60; 100 butterfly: 1. Trybula (P) 55.90; 2. Weisser (R) 56.28. 100 freestyle: 1. Lewandowski (R) 50.71; 2. Coquillard (P) 52.12; 500 freestyle: 1. Blue (R) 5:01.38; 2. Nicholas Chettleburgh (P) 5:01.71; 200 freestyle relay: 1. Penn 1:35.93 (Prokrym, Coquillard, McDonough, Chettleburgh); 2. Riley 1:37.47 (Chris Ballard, Meck, Gordon Tyler, Andrew Johnson); 100 backstroke: 1. Elliott (P) 55.81; 2. Reed Schrad (P) 1:02.97; 100 breaststroke: 1. Meck (R) 1:06.83; 2. Jacob Lovett (P) 1:10.76; 400 freestyle relay: 1. Penn 3:22.45 (Trybula, Coquillard, Chettleburgh, Elliott); 2. Riley 3:24.95 (Blue, Lewandowski, Johnson, Weisser).